Chapter 6

Hyeondeok City

Among all dimensions, the place said to have the weakest restrictions from those 'laws.'

The Fifth Dimension.

In truth, this was a place where balance was maintained through 'self-governance' instead of those laws.

Simply put, the transcendents of the dimension personally stepped forward to punish each other's misconduct.

The reason such a thing was possible was the overwhelmingly massive faction known as the Void.

It was because the transcended void lifeforms gathered there possessed an extremely strong sense of solidarity.

"You rootless bastard."

However, even within that strong solidarity, rivalry still existed.

Perhaps that was precisely why their bond was even stronger.

Even the youngest transcendent of the Void had lived for tens of millions of years.

Having spent countless eons together, none of them had even the slightest intention of yielding their name in those childish struggles over rank.

A subtle contest of pride.

Of course, everyone had roughly similar estimates in their heads.

They simply couldn't prove it through actual combat, but they knew one another's abilities that well.

The problem was that they were only similar.

The rankings in each of their minds did not perfectly match.

Unless the gap was overwhelming, they all harbored thoughts such as, I could still beat that guy...

"Uahahahahahahak!"

"..."

In that regard, the rankings and tier lists created by Oz, commonly known as the Tier List Villain.

And the analysis posts that followed afterward had caused quite a tremendous stir.

At first, he truly had been some 'rootless bastard,' but by now, calling him a 'bastard who doesn't even know the roots' was about the best they could manage.

No matter how you looked at it, Oz's tier lists were fairly accurate.

Even the reasoning that followed them was logical.

There was a reason they had become such a hot topic.

Practically semi-official.

Of course, nobody could know the exact outcomes without actually settling them in battle.

But before anyone realized it, they had gained considerable credibility.

However, by the very nature of tier lists, there were inevitably those who got thoroughly triggered by them.

The highest-ranking divinity who served as something akin to the leader of the Void.

He, who used the username [Nonexistent] in the gallery, was one of them.

"Guess you can't go around calling yourself the strongest in the Void anymore~"

"...Shut up, eighth place."

"Ooh, yes, of course, Mr. Third Place. But I actually ranked higher than I expected, so I'm pretty happyyy. I thought I'd be lower."

"..."

It infuriated him to see the man barge into his territory and act smug, but there was nothing he could do about it.

After all, he had behaved much the same way when other transcendents were the ones getting angry.

Wasn't it fun for everyone as long as you weren't the victim?

In any case, the memory of having to endure merciless teasing over it was still vivid.

It had only been two years ago, so naturally it would be.

"He's doing it again?"

And now he was apparently making another tier list.

The unpleasant memories from back then began creeping up again.

Surely I won't drop even lower than before.

Nonexistent shuddered once at the thought.

If that happened, these jackal-like bastards would undoubtedly swarm in and tear him apart.

[ Oz, it's me... ]

In the end, he had no choice but to send a DM through the gallery.

______________

"Puhuhu, it's still funny. Ah."

I laughed as I recalled the nearly fainting face of the enormous innkeeper woman.

The way she had gone pale as though she'd seen a ghost was clearly different from the expression she'd worn yesterday.

I wasn't stupid, so I had already known the innkeeper was overcharging me.

But I had simply let it slide because I disliked the minor conflict or commotion that would arise if I called her out on it even more.

Still, I had to make sure she kept her mouth shut.

The innkeeper probably wouldn't go around blabbing about me to anyone.

She seemed like a woman who knew how to read the situation.

Wooooong─

The door opened the moment the sensor reacted.

It was proof that the forged identity the old goblin had manipulated was working properly.

After all, this facility was also connected to the city hall database.

Public Citizen General Exchange.

The structure of the place operating under that name was somewhat complicated.

It also functioned as a bank, and you could sell mana stones or materials harvested from magical beasts there.

You could trade various weapons, purchase transit passes within the city, and so on.

Just a few days ago, I would have had no reason to visit, and even if I had, I wouldn't have been allowed inside.

I passed by people going about their business here and there and headed toward the desk.

It looked as though nobody was paying me any attention, but several consciousnesses and streams of mana had already swept over my body.

Still, I acted naturally, as though I didn't care.

"Grade 5 cyberware. I need sensory enhancement."

"An inquiry regarding cyberware, then. Would you please wait a moment-?"

The woman at the desk greeted me with a gentle smile.

For reference, this appearance that felt entirely human was essentially fake.

She was an android created by augmenters.

She didn't appear to be particularly high grade either, so the moment she left this simple desk job, it would probably become glaringly obvious that she wasn't human.

"Your request has been forwarded to the person in charge in Room 206 on the second floor. You can go up using the stairs on the left."

Without answering, I immediately climbed the stairs.

Then, the few presences I'd felt in the lobby smoothly dispersed.

It probably meant they had no further business with me.

Room 206, Room 206.

I followed the small room-number plaques mounted beside the doors.

Click-

"Ah, welcome."

The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, a man wearing a professional smile greeted me.

What stood out was the leather vest he wore, marked with a rather unusual pattern, and I knew what that pattern represented.

...The Kardin faction.

Unlike their master, they were basically moderate, so an ordinary conversation should be enough.

"You said you're looking for something in the sensory-enhancement line?"

"More precisely, detection capability."

There was only one reason I'd gone out of my way to come here.

I could undoubtedly achieve remarkable growth in a short period of time, but for now, I didn't yet possess overwhelmingly powerful abilities.

I believed I could eventually reach transcendence.

Still, in the end, I needed enough time to get there, and until then, I had to protect myself.

That was why I needed to supplement my combat power to a certain extent immediately.

"A wise decision. You're a mage, correct?"

"Yeah. I assume you know what I want."

"Of course."

There was no reason for the conversation to drag on.

Whenever mages requested sensory-enhancement cyberware, the form they wanted was uniform without the slightest deviation.

"It'll take roughly two weeks."

"Longer than I expected."

"I'm not particularly skilled, you see."

Despite joking with a hahaha, he looked fairly confident.

I gave a faint snicker in return and asked him.

"Do you get much work these days? There's been some unrest around Hyeondeok City."

"It has been rather chaotic. If you dig into the details, it's ultimately a factional struggle. Ah, come to think of it, are you on this side as well, Mage?"

By asking whether I was 'on this side,' he meant whether I belonged to one of the factions maintaining their base in Hyeondeok City.

Naturally, since this place was municipally operated as well, it would maintain close relations with the established factions.

I lightly shook my head.

"No. I'm thinking of paying them a visit soon."

"Ah. You're unaffiliated?"

"For now."

"You'll choose somewhere that suits your disposition anyway, but personally, I'd recommend the Academy."

"The Academy? Is there a reason?"

It wasn't somewhere I had particularly considered.

The Academy he was referring to was probably the Archeum Academy, which focused relatively heavily on pure magic and was far removed from combat.

In other words, it was completely at odds with my immediate needs and disposition.

"Well, naturally, the mages from the Academy tend to be rather gentle. People from the other factions can be unsettling sometimes. You seem like you'd fit in well over there, Mage."

"..."

I thought I'd been acting like a fairly typical 'mage,' but apparently I still hadn't reached their level.

Then again, judging by their depictions in the original story alone, the people who used magic were practically lunatics.

"So I just need to come back in two weeks?"

"Yes. Come by around the 28th. The price will be eighty million hwan."

It was a bone-chilling amount.

Of course, higher-grade cyberware, especially anything related to physical enhancement, cost vastly more.

Even if it sounded like the price of an average house, this was considered relatively cheap.

Later on, they wouldn't even glance at ordinary currency like this.

"Eighty million hwan. I see."

For reference, I did not currently have that much money.

Of course, I could probably earn it if I tried, but doing so within two weeks would be a bit difficult.

Still, was there any reason I had to earn it myself?

I already had something in mind.

With that, I parted ways with the affable man.

Then I went back down to the desk, finished confirming the schedule, and prepared to head for my next destination.

Every hour mattered.

"...Huh."

But at that moment, I felt a rather ominous presence.

I let the pressure wash past me with a light exhale, but merely sensing the being made it feel as though my shoulders were being crushed.

The other presences moving busily around the lobby scattered in all directions as well, like prey before a predator.

I looked toward the person radiating that presence.

Blue hair, and a woman wearing an indifferent expression as though nothing around her mattered.

A faint description buried deep in my memories resurfaced.

Meaning she was someone important enough to have appeared in the original story.

Yu Seolyeong.

The eldest daughter of the sect master of the Cheongheo Sect, one of the major powers in Hyeondeok City.

For reference, she dies in the original story.

Cause of death: rape and murder.